Category Archives: Burma

As regular readers will know, we have just moved house. In the process, I have discovered that I have an awful lot of stuff which I don’t need, and I’ve been trying to cull my things.

On Saturday I went through my underpants drawer, and threw out the knickers that had baggy elastic, or strange scratchy lace bits, or were generally uncomfortable. They are in a bag under the bed. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Obviously you can’t give them to charity, and it feels wasteful to put them in the bin. However, I’ve received an e-mail from a friend which told of a great campaign: I can rid the world of evil and find a way to use those old undies.

The Lanna Action for Burma group suggests that women around the world should get pictures of the Burmese military junta leaders and stick them on pairs of old underpants, and then send it to the nearest Burmese embassy. Apparently many members of the junta are very superstitious, and believe that contact with a woman’s sarong or underwear will rob them of their power. I hope my pants do leech those generals of their power, and free the people of Burma. Like every decent person, I have been shocked at the footage of the brutal suppression of protesters in Burma recently.

I don’t know of this precise superstitution, but I do know that the Burmese junta reputed to be very superstitious as a rule. Than Shwe, the senior general, moved the entire capital from Rangoon (Yangon) to a new location in the middle of the jungle, Naypyidaw, on the say-so of astrologers. The move had to start at 6:37am in the morning on 6 November 2005 because that was the most auspicious time. Various other arrangments had to be made in accordance with auspicious principles.

Well, there you go, a use for my old underpants! And hopefully I can freak out some nasty old generals while I’m at it. Bwah ha ha haaa!